Students Awarded Fellowships/Scholarship for Sustainability Efforts

The Sustainability Institute at Molloy College recently announced three student awards. Two Molloy students, senior Nina Scanze and junior Elizabeth Gregory, both received fellowships from the Partnership for Global Justice. Scanze was awarded the Spring 2022 fellowship, and Gregory earned the Fall 2022 fellowship. Additionally, Anthony Bologna received the Partnership’s Spring 2022 scholarship.

The Partnership for Global Justice Fellowship is administered by the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College. This competitive fellowship is designed to provide a meaningful student experience while contributing directly to the identification of approaches to ending, or at least mitigating, environmentally or socially damaging decision-making on Long Island.

“The Sustainability Institute at Molloy College is proud to be administering the newly endowed Partnership for Global Justice Fellowship and Scholarship opportunities for students,” said Demosthenes Maratos, Communications Director, Sustainability Institute at Molloy College. “In keeping with Molloy’s mission, we look forward to providing a meaningful student experience, while guiding students in identifying approaches that address socially and environmentally damaging decision making in our region.”

The fellowships generated a lot of interest from many worthy applicants. Students were required to take a quiz to determine their literacy on sustainability issues, write an essay explaining their personal interest in the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as applied to Long Island, and to provide their specific reasons for applying for the Partnership for Global Justice Fellowship. In addition, applicants were asked to outline specific objectives and expected benefits of the fellowship, and to detail how it would relate to their future educational and career goals. They were also invited to highlight their extra-curricular activities that pertain to the UN Goals.

Additional fellowship eligibility requirements included:

• full-time Molloy undergraduate or graduate student status
• overall and major GPA of at least 3.0
• commitment to at least 100 hours of time per semester
• completion of a self-performance evaluation each semester.

“It’s an honor to receive the opportunity to use my strengths to help the surrounding community,” said fellowship recipient Elizabeth Gregory who is studying early/childhood special education with a concentration in English. “Through the fellowship, I will make connections with an abundance of people throughout Long Island, including but not limited to local government personnel and other professionals. I plan to intersect education with sustainability, working towards providing the importance of sustainability and having environmental responsibility through educational resources and methods.”

Fellows will become familiar with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), select an issue within one of these 17 international goals, and execute a project to address that goal on a local level. Additionally, they will receive a $2,900 stipend.

Through the fellowship it is expected that the two winners will gain exposure to sustainability efforts globally and here on Long Island as they learn about governmental operations. The fellows will also acquire professional skills, expand network connections, and develop enhanced resumes.

The Partnership for Global Justice Scholarship is also administered by the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College. The Scholarship is awarded to students with a demonstrated interest in and dedication to educating, advocating, and participating in social justice specifically related to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Qualified candidates were required to be full-time Molloy undergraduate or graduate students and should have an overall and major GPA of at least 3.0. The winner received a $1,000 stipend along with countless opportunities for professional development.

“Molloy College has a long- standing commitment to environmental justice,” said Vice President for Advancement, Edward Thompson. “These fellowships and scholarship were the result of the generosity of friends of the College and we look forward to continued support for these initiatives.”